The Eisenhower Matrix--Quadrant 2: Important and not Urgent

Q2, the upper right quadrant, is where the magic happens.  It’s the place where you get to look beyond the end of your desk or the bottom of your screen and move yourself into the future.  This is where you can build the systems in your organization that can enable future excellence. The challenge is to carve out your Q2 time, guard it fiercely, and use it wisely.

Your time should be devoted mostly to the most important tasks if you want to achieve the most important goals. At work, whether you run your own company or work for someone else, only a few things will get you closer to the goal at any given point in time. The same goes for achieving your dreams and goals in life. Not every project is equally important, not every meeting is equally important, and not every task needs to be completed.

What do you need time to think about? To plan? To imagine?  (I don’t mean daydreaming about your next day off).  What do you want to achieve in your life?  What kind of life do you want to have?  How can you move toward making these achievements more than just a wishlist?

Q2 time is time for planning, scheduling, and strategizing the kinds of changes you want to make in your business, your relationships, and your personal life.  It’s your time to cut through the fog, the clutter, and the chaos, and begin to take action to make the changes you want.

(Ironically, you may spend some Q2 time figuring out how to spend less time in Q3&4, but that’s still ahead of us).

These top two quadrants, Q1-the Crisis Quadrant, and Q2-the Scheduling Quadrant are the two places you should spend most of your time, and between these two, do everything you can to move quickly through the things that belong in Q1 so you can spend more time and energy in Q2.

Next time: Q3: Urgent and not Important: Delegate!